Experience Sicily

I was looking for an immersive Sicily experience for my mom and I, and we found that and so much more with Experience Sicily. The Stirring Sicily trip with Allison Scola and Rossella Rago, plus the prelude, took us all around the island with unique and memorable boutique experiences. Allison is a multi-talented, calm tour leader and excellent historian/storyteller. Rosella was fun and encouraging, and the handsome driver Massimo got us everywhere safely. It is fairly intensive but Allison does build into the schedule some slower or later days and little gelato breaks. The accommodations were clean and charming, although Villa Cefalà needs to invest in new mattresses. I would not hesitate to recommend Experience Sicily!

Alison and her team at Experience Sicily are extraordinarily skilled and professional. I trusted them with every facet of a nine day tour of Sicily for my family. They delivered with exactly what we discussed during our consultations and more. Every detail was planned to perfection. I use travel agents for international travel regularly. I have never been this impressed. All of the experiences and stays were personally curated by Alison. Our local guides Guiseppe and Valeria treated us like family. The frequency of communication and tech used to keep our plans current was ideal. Sicily is complicated. It’s easy to plan a generic, touristy experience. If you would rather have an authentic, curated experience then I can strongly recommend this team. I wouldn’t dream of traveling in Sicily without their help.

Experience Sicily is the best and only way to tour Sicily. I enjoyed my trip thoroughly. Allison and her team are professional and detailed oriented. We enjoyed Sicilian street food, learning about Sicilian history and culture, visiting ancient temples, a boat excursion, wine tastings, cooking class, and authentic Sicilian hospitality. I highly recommend you tour with Experience Sicily. You will not be disappointed.

We just returned from our customized 15 day tour of Sicily and can’t stop thinking about just how amazing this trip was. We took advantage of the Experience Sicily concierge package which left nothing to chance. Allison and her team were there within moments to respond to every question. From hikes, to cooking classes to a beautiful boat ride, every adventure was better than the last. Learning about this amazing country, eating the delicious foods and meeting lots of new friends along the way added up to a trip we will never forget. I can’t say enough about what a wonderful time we had. I’m still tasting the pasta and cannolis!!

Our 12 day personalized, independent tour of Sicily was fabulous! We met guides each day for a good combination of historic/cultural tours and in-person experiences with Sicilians in their businesses and homes. The car rental and driving went well with GPS navigation even though the reception gets a bit confused in the narrow streets of medieval villages. Allison was always available to make last-minute adjustments through WhatsApp and Trip Plans. April is a wonderful time to travel in Sicily with few other tourists; fresh, colorful flowers through the countrysides and perfect temperatures. Observing preparation for Easter throughout Sicily during Holy Week and the procession of the Stations of the Cross in Trapani was especially memorable.

Just back from a 2 week tour of Sicily and it was truly a first rate experience. Stunning views, great food, truly interesting history. Our guide, and owner of the company, Allison Scola, was incredibly knowledgeable and. her love Sicily was apparent. In addition to visits to all the tourist spots...all of which were impressive...we had some unique experiences...a private dinner at the home of one of Allison's friends, and a day with a Sicilian farming family up in the mountains. All in all, a very well thought out and enjoyable tour. Highly recommended.

We've been back 10 days and the fairy dust that Allison and her team sprinkled on our Sicilian adventure has not worn off. My friend and I are over the moon with how stress free and marvelous our curated tour to beautiful and friendly Sicily was. We were cared for every step of the way. Loved our drivers, tour guides, cooking instructor (Annalisa!) and hotel staff. We are active women in our 60s -70s. Never felt any qualms, anywhere. Gals (especially), get out there and Experience Sicily! Grazie mille Allison, Ciao, Rebecca

My triplet sister, cousin and I traveled in Oct with a delightful small group on Alison Scola's amazing 15 day boutique Enchanting Sicily tour. I generally avoid traveling with a tour group, but this trip surpassed my expectations in every way! Sicily is magical, and Alison was the consummate guide. The landscape is stunning, the history and archeology fascinating, the cuisine is incredibly delicious, and the Sicilians we met were warm and welcoming. Alison's passionate love for Sicily and personal connections were evident throughout the tour. Her insider knowledge regarding its people, rich and complicated history, archeology, cuisine and natural beauty is truly impressive. Alison is also a wonderful storyteller and performer, and she surprised us one evening with a performance by a group of musician friends--whom she joined to sing and play guitar! In addition,Alison is an extremely skilled organizer and facilitator, and all the preparation and legwork that went into making this tour so successful was seamless. She provided excellent digital resources in advance of the trip and hired skilled and personable professionals throughout- from our excellent drivers to our onsite tour guides who were highly trained and engaging. She made sure everyone's needs and preferences were accommodated. Lodgings were also well-chosen. Alison managed to cover most of the essential tourist destinations while also introducing us to many off-the-beaten-track experiences that we would not have been able to experience on our own or with a larger tour. A list( which is by no means all-inclusive) included a delicious welcome dinner at the home of a friend who is a professional chef; an excursion to Mt. Etna with an expert guide where we explored a lava tube and hiked around a moonscape crater;a delightful wine tasting and lunch at a beautiful vineyard, where an expert educated us about Mt. Etna wines;a cooking class;a cannoli-making demonstration: an authentic,traditional puppet show in Palermo; a day trip to visit a friend's sheep farm and a farm-fresh lunch in the countryside., and an opportunity to participate in olive harvesting! The pace of the tour was fairly intensive, but time was also built into the schedule to shop, people-watch over a limoncello spritz or cafe macchiato and pastry... or just chill. In sum, I would highly recommend traveling with Experience Sicily. You won't be disappointed!